When people think about careers in health, many think about medical careers (such as doctor or nurse) that involve treating individuals who have illnesses or injuries. Public health practitioners address the health of whole populations and focus on injury and disease prevention, as well as the promotion of optimal health, rather than on treatment. The B.S. in Public Health with concentration in Community Health Education offers an integrated approach to public health that addresses local, national, and global health issues with an emphasis on social justice. It provides future community health educators with the skills and knowledge they will need to develop, implement and evaluate programs that target issues as diverse as cancer, obesity, sexuality, aging, violence, maternal and child health, substance abuse, adolescent health, mental health and many more. Students will also understand how to create programs and promote policies that eliminate disparities in health outcomes among different populations so that everyone has an equal opportunity to be healthy. Graduates of the program will work in a variety of settings (government agencies, community clinics, hospitals, nonprofit organizations, corporations) and focus on a variety of age groups, populations and health issues.
Program Requirements Overview
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Requirements | 33 | |
| World Languages and Cultures Requirements | 3-9 | |
| Major Requirements | 69 | |
| Free Electives 1 | 15-9 | |
| Total Credits | 120 | |
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Graduate Swing Courses will count toward free electives for students in the combined B.S. Public Health/M.B.A. Business Administration program or the combined B.S. Public Health/M.P.H. Public Health programs.
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Public Health Core | ||
| HLTH 102 | Introduction to Public Health | 3 |
| HLTH 202 | Public Health Foundations, Ethics, and Cultural Competency | 3 |
| HLTH 204 | Social and Behavioral Aspects of Health | 3 |
| HLTH 240 | Foundations of Environmental Health | 3 |
| HLTH 360 | Health Policy and Administration | 3 |
| HLTH 365 | Science of Public Health: Epidemiology | 3 |
| HLTH 425 | Applied Statistics for Public Health | 3 |
| Required Fieldwork | ||
| HLTH 497 | Introduction to Internship and Professionalism | 3 |
| HLTH 498 | Internship and Culminating Seminar | 6 |
| Community Health Education Concentration Requirements | ||
| See requirements listed below. | 39 | |
| Total Credits | 69 | |
Concentration Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| HLTH 328 | Program Planning and Evaluation | 3 |
| HLTH 330 | Health Education Methods | 3 |
| HLTH 355 | Addressing Health Disparities Through Social Justice | 3 |
| HLTH 374 | Health Communication | 3 |
| HLTH 444 | Community Organizing and Health Advocacy | 3 |
| Biology Requirement | ||
| HLTH 208 | Study of Human Diseases | 3 |
| HLTH 290 | Human Sexuality | 3 |
| Electives | ||
| Select four courses from the list below. 1 | 12 | |
| Required Collateral Courses | ||
| STAT 109 | Statistics | 3 |
| NUFD 182 | Nutrition: A Socioecological Perspective | 3 |
| Total Credits | 39 | |
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Students in the combined Public Health Major, Community Health Education Concentration (B.S.)/Public Health (M.P.H.) program take three elective courses.
Electives
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Community and Health | ||
| Special Topics in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies | ||
| Medical Terminology | ||
| Injury Prevention and Emergency Care | ||
| Perspectives on Drugs | ||
| Mental Health | ||
| Special Topics in Health | ||
| School Health and Community Services | ||
| Counseling Skills for Public Health Professionals | ||
| Advanced Methods in Health Education | ||
| Population Approaches to Diet and Activity | ||
| Health Aspects of Aging | ||
| Race, Racism, and Health | ||
| Gender, Sexuality, and Health Disparities | ||
| Sociology of Health and Illness |
General Education Requirements
Click here for a list of courses that fulfill General Education categories.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| A. New Student Seminar | ||
| Complete a 1 credit New Student Seminar course. | 1 | |
| C. Communication | ||
| 1. Writing | 3 | |
| 2. Literature | 3 | |
| 3. Communication | 3 | |
| D. Fine and Performing Arts | ||
| Complete a 3 credit Fine and Performing Arts course. | 3 | |
| F. Humanities | ||
| 1. Great Works and Their Influences | 3 | |
| 2. Philosophical and Religious Perspectives | 3 | |
| G. Computer Science | ||
| Complete a 3 credit Computer Science course. | 3 | |
| H. Mathematics | ||
| Statistics (Fulfilled in the major.) | ||
| I. Natural Science Laboratory | ||
| Complete a 4 credit Natural Science Laboratory course. | 4 | |
| J. Physical Education | ||
| Complete a 1 credit Physical Education course. | 1 | |
| K. Social Science | ||
| 1. American and European History | 3 | |
| 2. Global Cultural Perspectives | 3 | |
| 3. Social Science Perspectives | ||
| Human Sexuality (Fulfilled in the major.) | ||
| L. Interdisciplinary Studies | ||
| Introduction to Public Health (Fulfilled in the major.) | ||
| Total Credits | 33 | |
World Languages and Cultures Requirements
Click here for a list of courses that fulfill World Languages and Cultures categories.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| World Languages | ||
| Based on language placement exam, complete one or two sequential courses in the same language. Requirement is automatically fulfilled by language major courses. | 3-6 | |
| World Cultures | ||
| Requirement may be fulfilled by course selected in General Education - Social Science: Global Cultural Perspectives. Requirement may also be fulfilled by major coursework. See list of courses. | 0-3 | |
| Total Credits | 3-9 | |
Recommended Roadmap to Degree Completion
This four-year plan is provided as an outline for students to follow in order to complete their degree requirements within four years. This plan is a recommendation and students should only use it in consultation with their academic advisor.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| GENERAL EDUCATION: (A) New Student Seminar | 1 | GENERAL EDUCATION: (C2) Literature | 3 |
| GENERAL EDUCATION: (C1) Writing | 3 | GENERAL EDUCATION: (G) Computer Science | 3 |
| GENERAL EDUCATION: (C3) Communication | 3 | GENERAL EDUCATION: (K1) Social Science – American and European History | 3 |
| HLTH 102 | 3 | HLTH 202 | 3 |
| STAT 109 | 3 | HLTH 204 | 3 |
| 13 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| GENERAL EDUCATION: (F1) Humanities – Great Works and Their Influences | 3 | World Cultures | 3 |
| GENERAL EDUCATION: (I) Natural Science Laboratory | 4 | World Language 2 | 3 |
| World Language 1 | 3 | NUFD 182 | 3 |
| HLTH 208 | 3 | HLTH 240 | 3 |
| HLTH 330 | 3 | HLTH 365 | 3 |
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| GENERAL EDUCATION: (D) Fine and Performing Arts | 3 | HLTH 360 | 3 |
| GENERAL EDUCATION: (K2) Social Science – Global Cultural Perspectives | 3 | HLTH 374 | 3 |
| HLTH 290 | 3 | HLTH 425 | 3 |
| HLTH 328 | 3 | Concentration Elective | 3 |
| HLTH 355 | 3 | Concentration Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| GENERAL EDUCATION: (F2) Humanities – Philosophical and Religious Perspectives | 3 | HLTH 498 | 6 |
| GENERAL EDUCATION: (J) Physical Education | 1 | Free Elective | 3 |
| HLTH 444 | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| HLTH 497 | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Concentration Elective | 3 | ||
| Concentration Elective | 3 | ||
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Total Credits 120 | |||